Starship Asterisk*

Ann wrote:Ehhh...Curiosity?

Okay, here's my next question.

We are twins. In 1838 it was found that we are 10.4 light-years away (we are actually 11,4 light-years away, but never mind!).
Ann

61 Cygni,sometimes called Bessel's Star[12] or Piazzi's Flying Star,[13] is a binary star system in the constellation Cygnus. It consists of a pair of K-type dwarf stars that orbit each other in a period of about 659 years, forming a visual binary. At fifth and sixth apparent magnitudes, they are among the least conspicuous stars visible in the night sky to an observer without an optical instrument.

61 Cygni first attracted the attention of astronomers because of its large proper motion. In 1838, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel measured its distance from Earth at about 10.4 light years, very close to the actual value of about 11.4 light years; this was the first distance estimate for any star other than the Sun,[14] and first star to have its stellar parallax measured.

Ann wrote:Okay...

I used to be known as Xena, the Warrior Princess!

Now I'm a goddess of discord. Oh well.

Ann

MargaritaMc wrote:"Madame Sosostris would probably have seen me as linked to the wheel of fortune - who/what am I?"

rstevenson wrote:Okay, here 'tis. (Not sure if Google can be defeated, except perhaps by punny clues.)

There's three of me but we're not really close. However, we can be cinched.

Rob

α UMi Aa is a 4.5 solar mass F7 supergiant (Ib). This is the first classical Cepheid to have a dynamical mass determined from its orbit. The two smaller companions are: α UMi B, a 1.39 solar mass F3 main sequence star orbiting at a distance of 2400 AU, and α UMi Ab (or P), a very close F6 main sequence star with an 18.8 AU radius orbit and 1.26 solar masses. There are also two distant components α UMi C and α UMi D.[9]

Polaris B can be seen even with a modest telescope. It was found by William Herschel in 1780 using one of the most powerful telescopes at the time: a reflecting telescope that he had made. In 1929, it was discovered by examining the spectrum of Polaris A that it was a very close binary with the secondary being a dwarf (variously α UMi P, α UMi a or α UMi Ab), which had been theorized in earlier observations (Moore, J.H and Kholodovsky, E. A.). In January 2006, NASA released images from the Hubble telescope, directly showing all three members of the Polaris ternary system. The nearer dwarf star is in an orbit of only 18.5 AU (2.8 billion km,[10] about the distance from our Sun to Uranus) from Polaris A, explaining why its light is swamped by its close and much brighter companion.[4]

Ann wrote:Well, I guess the horsehead can be sort of cinched, at least the supposedly hidden back of it - but the belt?

<grumble> I feel my grasp of English failing me. We can be cinched???

Ann

(Verb)
Cinched. Past participle, past tense of cinch
Secure (a garment) with a belt.
Fix (a saddle) securely by means of a girth; girth up (a horse).

MargaritaMc wrote:

rstevenson wrote:There's three of me but we're not really close. However, we can be cinched.

Orion's Belt? Alnilam, Alnitak and Mintaka - from memory, so spelling may be awry.
M

rstevenson wrote:

MargaritaMc wrote:

rstevenson wrote:There's three of me but we're not really close. However, we can be cinched.

Orion's Belt? Alnilam, Alnitak and Mintaka - from memory, so spelling may be awry.
M

You got it. Three stars forming a belt - seemingly together but really hundreds of light years apart. And yes, belts can be cinched. It was a cinch, right?

Sorry, Ann. Puns are not really fair for those not very fluent in English. After all, why would anyone other than us crazy English speakers think that "cinch" can mean an easy task, or a firm grip, or a certainty, or even a particular bit of leather or rope for a pack animal -- while "cinched" brings two of those meanings together, as you get a firm grip on the rope holding Orion's pants up. Or his kilt, or whatever hunters wore back then.

Rob

owlice wrote:Indian Sarus Cranes.

rstevenson wrote:I hesitate to answer since I likely won't get to another question soon if my answer is correct, so I'll use the spoiler feature so others can ignore my answer.

Grus grus

Rob

Grus has several bright stars. Alpha Gruis, called Alnair, is a blue-white star of magnitude 1.7, 101 light-years from Earth. Its traditional name, Alnair, means "the bright one" and refers to its status as the brightest star in Grus. Beta Gruis is a red giant variable star with a minimum magnitude of 2.3 and a maximum magnitude of 2.0; it is 170 light-years from Earth. Gamma Gruis is a blue giant of magnitude 3.0, 203 light-years from Earth.

Moonlady wrote:Maybe : alpha grus, the blue white one and beta grus the orange one.

Grus has several bright stars. Alpha Gruis, called Alnair, is a blue-white star of magnitude 1.7, 101 light-years from Earth. Its traditional name, Alnair, means "the bright one" and refers to its status as the brightest star in Grus. Beta Gruis is a red giant variable star with a minimum magnitude of 2.3 and a maximum magnitude of 2.0; it is 170 light-years from Earth. Gamma Gruis is a blue giant of magnitude 3.0, 203 light-years from Earth.